Can't buy me lo-ove!

Krassimir Simeonov, 43, on Monday had his U.S. citizenship yanked by a federal judge after authorities found out he'd gotten it through a marriage fraud scheme originating in the Palmetto State.

The operation was based in Bennettsville, S.C. The other people involved were residents of Dillon and Horry counties.

Monday’s action is the last one in a string of unhappy events for Simeonov.

The man, who was living in Canada, was convicted of marriage fraud charges in November 2007 and served 15 months in federal prison. He and his co-conspirator wife, Mariana, hatched the plan in 1997. It all ended on April 24, 2007 with their federal indictment in South Carolina.

In 2005, federal agents initiated the "Operation True Lies" investigation into a marriage fraud scheme that involved South Carolina residents and Bulgarians living in Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut and Georgia.

Agents uncovered 13 fake marriages, the earliest from September 1997, according to a press release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The couples lied on legal documents by claiming to live as husband and wife. In doing so, the Bulgarians enjoyed the rights and privileges that allowed them to stay in the country without having to apply for authorization from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.

So what role did American’s play?

The federal investigation revealed that Americans were paid $2,000 each to marry Bulgarians and to represent to immigration authorities that each marriage was a true relationship, according to the ICE release. I suppose $2,000 is a lot less than this.

To date, 27 of the targets have been convicted and sentenced in the scheme.